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Vazquez to Qatar leaves TFC with huge hole in midfield

Toronto FC has avoided major turnover in recent years — a contender with a roster in its prime, backed by the financial might of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

But now, one big name is on the way out.

Midfielder Victor Vazquez agreed to terms with an unidentified club in Qatar, the Reds announced Tuesday. The transfer will see TFC receive an undisclosed fee in return if the 31-year-old passes a physical.

“We’re going to miss him and it’ll be difficult,” TFC coach Greg Vanney said. “I don’t think we’ll find a way to replace Victor exactly, but we’ll find (a) player or players that we’ll also add to our team in this transition.”

Vazquez was a godsend for strikers Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore when he arrived in February 2017. The forwards had publicly pined for an attacking midfielder to play behind them, following a loss to the Seattle Sounders on penalties in the 2016 MLS Cup final. The Reds dominated, but struggled to create chances.

Enter Vazquez. The Barcelona product collected 10 goals and 20 assists in 39 appearances in his first season in Major League Soccer. He was voted to the league’s Best XI and helped win a historic treble — the Canadian Championship, Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup — by pulling the strings in TFC’s attack.

Vazquez became Toronto’s fourth-highest player when he signed a multi-year extension ahead of the 2018 season — earning $1.5 million U.S. in 2018, according to the MLS Players’ Union. But what would be his final season was starkly different from his first.

The veteran midfielder played just 21 league games this past year, struggling with injuries before season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in October. As Vazquez struggled mentally and physically, he started looking toward the future, Vanney said.

The possibility of a departure was floated by Vazquez’s agent to former TFC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko late last year, but serious discussions with the unidentified Qatari club began about 10 days ago.

“I think he was very happy (in Toronto), but I think the opportunity that is presented to him is long-term— even beyond playing days, potentially — and so that is something that he had to take in consideration in this thought process,” Vanney said.

Toronto will look to add midfield depth as a result — an attack-minded central player or winger. Jonathan Osorio is the closest thing they have to a Vazquez-like player at the moment. The Canadian, who scored a career-high 10 league goals in 2018, flourished under the Spaniard’s tutelage the past two seasons.

“We will not rush (a signing), but we have targets,” Vanney said. “This will just accelerate some of those conversations, and hopefully we can get things done sooner rather than later.”

In other news from training camp:

A couple of weeks after Vanney said Argentine winger Lucas Janson was unlikely to return, discussions were ongoing. “Lucas is not the same type of player as Victor, but I’m still holding out some optimism that Lucas might be part of the solution,” the coach said.

The club is also close to adding a goalkeeper, Vanney said. The current 25-man roster includes two: No. 1 Alex Bono and backup Caleb Patterson-Sewell, who didn’t see MLS minutes in his first season with the Reds.

Canadian striker Jordan Hamilton, whose contract expired on Dec. 31, is training with the team while contract negotiations continue.

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Canadian striker Tosaint Ricketts and veteran defender Jason Hernandez are unlikely to be back, with midfield help now the focus.

Midfielder/striker Tsubasa Endoh could return. TFC’s top draft pick in 2016 made 29 appearances in 2016 and 2017, then signed with Toronto FC II last November. Vanney said the club hoped to have an agreement in place in the next few days.

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